Abstract

Contamination of agricultural products by resuspended matter remains a concern in the highly contaminated areas. Radiocesium concentration of spinach cultivated with non-contaminated soil was low in the decontaminated areas, but high in the contaminated areas. The washed plants had relatively lower radiocesium concentration than the unwashed plants. Furthermore, the plants cultivated closer to the ground surface tended to have a higher radiocesium concentration than those cultivated farther from the ground. Therefore, it can be concluded that radiocesium found in the spinach leaves derived from resuspended matter in the air. With further analysis, radiocesium in the resuspended matter was confirmed to be present as particles.